Comic Book / Weapon Hex

My mother gave me the gift of empathy. Of connection to others. You treated us like animals, like test subjects, like weapons, but we are people. And I call upon the spirits of those who died for your madness to destroy you!

— Weapon Hex

First published in 2018 as a two-part miniseries, Infinity Wars: Weapon Hex was written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker detailing the origins of the Infinity Warps version of Laura Kinney, AKA Weapon Hex. Weapon Hex, like the rest of Infinity Warps, is part of Infinity Wars (2018).

For the solo comics of the other Warp World Defenders, see Arachknight, Ghost Panther, Iron Hammer, and Soldier Supreme.

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Tropes featured in Weapon Hex:

• Adaptational Badass: Everyone. In-Universe. Each Composite Character has the combined powers of whichever characters were merged to create them. Most notably, Weapon Hex has Scarlet Witch's magic and X-23's claws and Healing Factor, Speed Weasel has Quicksilver's Super-Speed and Honey Badger/Scout's claws and Healing Factor, and Hellhound has Magik's magic and Sabretooth's Healing Factor. Speed Weasel actually gets more of an upgrade than anyone else because, unlike Gabby Kinney/Honey Badger/Scout, her bone claws have Adamantium on them.
• Adapted Out: Kimura, X-23's handler in her origin comic, is not used for any composite characters. That role goes to Hellhound, a composite of Sabertooth and Magik.
• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: When Laura first meets Gavrill, she tousles her sister's hair.
• Ambiguous Gender: It's never stated whether the blue-skinned humanoid sacrificed in the opening scene is male or female.
• An Arm and a Leg: The first time Laura fights Hellhound outside of training, it ends with Hellhound cutting off Laura's left arm, right hand, and both legs. Laura gets better.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Speed Weasel is this to Weapon Hex.
• Anti-Anti-Christ: Laura was engineered by Dr. Wyndham to be a suitable vessel for Mephichton, but she turned against him and his goals.
• Apologetic Attacker: Laura, after Herbert forces her to kill Sarah.
• Archnemesis Dad: Dr. Herbert Wyndham is this to Laura.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Speed Weasel gets this from Quicksilver.
• Baby's First Words: Laura's first word - which she said shortly after being born - was her name. In the Lost Tongues.
• Backup from Otherworld: See Necromancy below.
• Becoming the Mask: A rare non-romantic example. Sarah deciding to carry and birth Laura herself is what leads to her eventual Heel–Face Turn.
• BFS: Like Magik, Hellhound has a massive blue magical sword, though it's never referred to as the Soulsword.
• Big "NO!": Herbert has one after Laura obliterates Hellhound.
• Big Sister Instinct: Laura is very protective of Gavrill once she finds out about her.
• Bilingual Bonus: A variant. In the beginning of Issue 1, the blue-skinned humanoid being sacrificed speaks in the comic's only instance of untranslated Lost Tongues. What it says translates as "PLEASE…PLEASE NO…"
• Black Sheep: Strangely enough, Herbert is a Downplayed example of this. Out of him, Sarah, Laura, and Gavrill, he's the only one who never develops a sense of empathy, and he's the only one whose devotion to Mephicthton never falters.
• Bleed 'Em and Weep: Laura cries after being forced to kill her mother.
• Calling Parents by Their Name: Laura calls Herbert by his first name a few times.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: During Laura and Hellhound's fight with the Covenant, after Laura uses her Hexision ability, we get some banter between enemies.
  Elsa Bladestone: You will not be able to slice my sword! This sword is the progeny of Excalibur herself!
  Hellhound: A sword had a baby sword? How's that even possible? Know what? Never mind. I don't wanna know.
• Chekhov's Skill: Herbert's ability to make Laura attack a specific target gets put to use when he forces her to kill her mother.
• Composite Character: Basically all of the characters in the comic fall under this trope. They include Laura Kinney/Weapon Hex (Laura Kinney/X-23 and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch), Hellhound (Illyana Rasputin/Magik and Victor Creed/Sabretooth), Gavrill Kinney/Speed Weasel (Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver and Gabby Kinney/Honey Badger/Scout), Herbert Wyndham (Blackheart and the High Evolutionary), Elsa Bladestone (Elsa Bloodstone and Blade), Mephicthton (Mephisto and Chthon), Hellfire (Daimon Hellstrom and Punisher), Agatha Darkness (Cloak and Agatha Harkness), and Dagger Li (Dagger and Mister Negative). This version of Sarah Kinney doesn't appear to be warped with any other character in particular, but she could be considered to also fill the role of Natalya Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch's mother, since Weapon Hex is the warp between Scarlet Witch and X-23. Hellhound also takes Kimura's role as Laura's handler.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Laura's father makes her kill her mother.
• Delinquent Hair: Herbert Wyndham of all people has this, sporting a red mohawk.
• Deliver Us from Evil: Downplayed. The birth of Laura caused Sarah to gradually become more empathetic, while Herbert did not follow suit.
• Demonic Possession: Laura was created as a vessel for the demon Mephicthton.
• Depending on the Writer: Unlike their later use in Secret Warps, the translations of Laura's Lost Tongues in this book actually have consistency, lining up with the language Scarlet Witch uses for her spells in the main comics.
• Determinator: Weapon Hex when she has to save Speed Weasel from being sacrificed.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Downplayed. Gavrill Kinney prefers to be called Speed Weasel, but she doesn't hate being called Gavrill, it's just a personal preference.
• The Dragon: Hellhound is Herbert Wyndham's. Herbert himself is arguably this to Mephicthton.
• Eldritch Abomination: Mephicthton is a massive demonic creature.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Laura kills a snake and tries to eat its guts at age 2.
  • Gavrill demands to be called Speed Weasel, then demonstrates her Super-Speed when asked why.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Herbert and Sarah are a happy couple at the start of the first issue.
• Evil Mentor: Hellhound is in charge of training Laura.
• Eye Color Change: Laura's eyes become completely white when Herbert uses Hex Marks the Spot on her.
• Genki Girl: Pietro's super-speed in the body of a preteen girl means Speed Weasel is ludicrously energetic at all times.
• Gilligan Cut: When Herbert and Hellhound are preparing to sacrifice Speed Weasel:
  Gavrill: My sister is gonna kick your butts.
  Hellhound: Your sister is dead.
  [cut to Laura laying on the her back, very much alive despite her arms and legs having been cut off.]
• Gory Discretion Shot:
  • All we see of Laura attacking Sarah is a blood splatter.
  • Hellhound cutting off Laura's arms and legs is not shown, only the aftermath.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Herbert Wyndham serves the demon Mephicthton.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Maybe. Herbert and Sarah have several creatures working for them that they refer to as "The hybrids". It's never stated what they are hybrids of. They're humanoid and have red skin, but otherwise their appearances vary.
• Healing Factor: Laura, Gavrill, and Hellhound all have one.
• Heel–Face Turn: Sarah has one shortly before Laura's ritual.
• Hero Antagonist: The Covenant, led by Elsa Bladestone, is trying to stop Herbert and Sarah from summoning Mephicthton. They're side characters, however.
• I Got Bigger: The first half of Issue 1 shows Laura's birth, then shows her at age 2, 5, 10, 17, and finally 18.
• Inconvenient Summons: Inverted when Laura uses her Hexagone ability to teleport Hellhound out of the room and into the cold weather outside.
  Hellhound: You magicked me to the #$&#@#$ turrets? You know how cold it is up there? RRRRR!
• Insult of Endearment: Hellhound calls Laura "Runt".
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: Herbert insists on referring to Laura as "It", while Sarah adamantly refuses to do the same.
  Bavel: Just as you thought, Doctor! It's a girl!
  Herbert: It's a vessel.
  Sarah: She is a vessel.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Herbert first uses Hex Marks the Spot to make Laura kill Peter, their pigman butler.
  • Herbert uses Hex Marks the Spot to make Laura kill Sarah.
  • Hellhound kills Bavel.
• Kid Hero: Gavrill Kinney/Speed Weasel.
• Kid Sidekick: Speed Weasel is this to Weapon Hex. Justified, since they're sisters.
• Kill Him Already!: When Laura hesitates to kill Hellfire, Hellhound does it for her.
  Hellhound: I gotta do every-damned-thing around here!
• Kill the Ones You Love: Herbert uses Hex Marks the Spot to make Laura kill Sarah.
• Lamarck Was Right: Laura was born with Adamantium already on her claws. Justified, since magic rituals were performed on Sarah during the pregnancy.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Laura doesn't remember anything she does when Herbert uses Hex Marks the Spot on her.
• Last Request: Sarah's is that Laura take care of her sister.
• Lightning Bruiser: Speed Weasel has Quicksilver's Super-Speed, and she can tank powerful hits from Hellhound thanks to Honey Badger/Scout's Healing Factor.
• Little Miss Badass: Speed Weasel is around 8 years old and has the combined powers of Quicksilver and Honey Badger/Scout.
• Lost Language: The blue-skinned being in the opening sacrifice is the first "vessel" to be able to speak the Lost Tongues. Laura speaks them as well, mainly when she casts her spells.
• Love Is a Weakness: Zig-Zagged. Herbert clearly loves Sarah, though not enough to spare her life, yet he views her maternal love for Laura as an obstacle on their road to summoning Mephicthton.
• Manchurian Agent: A magical variant. Herbert uses a triggering spell called Hex Marks the Spot to make Laura attack a certain target.
• Morality Chain/Morality Pet: Invoked but ultimately averted. Sarah secretly created Gavrill to be this for Laura.
  Laura (age 10): What's this for? More tests?
  Sarah: No, honey. I'm taking some blood. This is for just-in-case.
  Bavel: Just in case?
  Sarah: A fail-safe. In case Laura someday forgets who she is.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Laura can sense when Herbert uses Hex Marks the Spot on her before it takes effect. Unfortunately, that's not enough to save her mother.
• Mythology Gag: Considering every character is a Composite Character, this was inevitable.
  • One page is a direct homage to Wanda's famous "No more Mutants" line.
  • Hellhound calling Weapon Hex "Runt" comes from Sabretooth.
  • This exchange seems to be a reference to Logan claiming to be an art teacher in X2: X-Men United:
    Sarah: Training's over. Laura has to study.
    Hellhound: She is studying. Art, at that!
    Sarah: Yeah, the art of death.
    Hellhound: That's what I was gonna say!
  • Weapon Hex was created in a lab (like X-23) and born in Wundagore (like Scarlet Witch).
• Necromancy: Laura's Novis Sed Hexorcismus spell is this.
• Nuclear Family: The fact that the Kinney family consists of a mother, father, and two daughters is just about the only normal thing about them.
• Offing the Offspring: Laura was born to be a vessel for the demon Mephicthton. Later, Herbert tries to use Gavrill - sorry, Speed Weasel - instead.
• Off with His Head!: Said almost verbatim by Hellhound, who fails to decapitate Laura.
• Parents as People: We're introduced to Herbert and Sarah before they have Laura. She goes through Character Development, but he doesn't.
• Permissive Parents: Herbert has Hellhound teach Laura to fight from a young age. Justified, since he’s planning to sacrifice her to a demon and has her carry out dangerous missions until that happens.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Gavrill Kinney - sorry, Speed Weasel. She's around 8 years old and has helped her sister fight a demon.
• Pocket Dimension: The universe of the Infinity Warps exists within Soul World in the soul stone.
• Practically Different Generations: Laura is around a decade older than Gavrill.
• Promotion to Parent: Laura has to take care of Gavrill after Sarah's death.
• Punny Name: Laura's various magical powers. Though they're never said out loud, the displayed names of all her spells play on the word "Hex".
  • Hex Marks the Spot: Herbert's ability to make Laura attack a specific target.
  • Hex-N-Effect: Never explained, but it appears to be some kind of attack combining Laura's magic and claws.
  • Hexision: Implied to increase the sharpness and/or durability of Laura's claws.
  • Hexual Healing: Laura's magical healing factor.
  • Hexpulsion: Used to launch Elsa Bladestone into the air and presumably obliterate her.
  • Hexagone: Used by Laura to teleport Hellhound outside.
  • Hex Ray: An energy blast Laura uses to reduce Hellhound to a skeleton.
  • Novis Sed Hexorcismus: Used by Laura to summon the spirits of those who died for Herbert's plans to succeed.
    Laura: My mother gave me the gift of empathy, of connection to others. You treated us like animals, like test subjects, like weapons, but we are people, and I call upon the spirits of those who died for your madness to destroy you!
• Red Eyes, Take Warning:
  • Mephicthton has glowing red eyes.
  • In the panel where she has just mortally wounded Bavel and is about to attack Laura, Hellhound is shown as a silhouette, aside from her white teeth and red eyes.
• Red Is Heroic: Laura's magic powers give off a red glow, and her hair is also red. She is the hero and protagonist.
• Red Is Violent:
  • Laura is just as violent as her namesakes, if not more so.
  • Like Laura, Wyndham's powers are red, and he's more than capable of holding his own in a fight.
• The Reveal: At the end of the first issue, it's revealed that Laura has a sister.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Bavel.
• Self-Applied Nickname: Gavrill is the first to call herself Speed Weasel, and she repeatedly reminds people to call her it.
• Self-Made Orphan: Played for Horror when Herbert uses Hex Marks the Spot to make Laura kill Sarah.
• Shout-Out:
  • Sarah listens to That's Why You're Beautiful while pregnant.
  • 5 year-old Laura wears a t-shirt that looks a lot like Venom.
• Sibling Team: Laura and Gavrill in the second issue.
• Single Sex Offspring: Herbert and Sarah have two daughters.
• Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism: Bavel is somewhere between Funny Animal and Civilized Animal.
• Static Character: Herbert has the chance to go through Character Development, but he refuses to change his ways.
• Summon Bigger Fish: Laura defeats Herbert by calling upon the spirits of those who died for his madness to destroy him.
• Super Breeding Program: Inverted. After 22 attempts at creating a perfect vessel, all to which failed, Herbert and Sarah decided to deliberately create a flawed vessel in the hopes that Mephicthton would accept it. That vessel was named Laura.
• Targeted Human Sacrifice: A failed one occurs at the beginning of Issue 1. Weapon Hex was created to be part of one.
• Training from Hell: Hellhound puts Weapon Hex through this.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: At the age of 2, Laura encounters a snake and kills it.
  Sarah: Laura, honey, don't put snake guts in your mouth.
• Unknown Relative: At the end of the first issue, Laura finds out she has a sister.
• Unholy Matrimony: Herbert and Sarah are a married couple trying to create a vessel for the demon Mephicthton.
• Vague Age: The first issue takes place over the course of 18-19 years, starting before Laura's conception and ending on what is presumably her 18th birthday. The second issue takes place over the course of less than a day. Ironically, during that time, Laura herself is the only character who visibly ages.
  • Hellhound's only physical change is that, when Laura is 10, Hellhound has a pair of horns that weren't there eight years earlier. Even her hair length stays fairly consistent. Justified, since she has a healing factor that most likely affects her aging.
  • Sarah's hair starts off short and spiky, staying like that from before Laura's conception to when Laura is 5. By the time Laura is 10, Sarah's hair is neck-length, and it stays that way until her death. Possibly justified, assuming whatever magic Herbert uses on himself can be used on her as well.
  • Herbert Wyndham is the biggest offender, going through absolutely no physical changes during the two decades that pass over the course of Issue 1. Even his mohawk stays the same length. Justified, since he has an assortment of magical abilities, some of which could easily allow him to slow down his aging or stop it entirely.
• Villainous Parental Instinct: Sarah develops this as Laura grows up. Herbert…not so much.
• Wham Line: After Herbert makes Laura attack Sarah:
  Sarah: Take care of your sister…
• Wingdinglish: Laura speaks in the Lost Tongues which, written out, are just English with the letters replaced by various symbols. It appears to be the same language used by Scarlet Witch and Loki for their spells.
  • Here's a cypher that lines up with examples found in this comic.
• Wolverine Claws: Laura and Gavrill have them courtesy of X-23 and Honey Badger/Scout.
• Would Hurt a Child:
  • Herbert tries to use Gavrill as a demonic sacrifice in Laura's place.
  • Hellhound inflicts serious injuries on Laura during their training, which started when Laura was no older than ten.
• X Called; They Want Their Y Back: Gavrill Kinney/Speed Weasel is a snarky hyperactive child.
  Gavrill (to Hellhound): What's with that sword? It's so big. You think people are gonna drive by and not see it? Hey, the big sword store called - they want their sword back. It's big.

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